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The Roles Of Cyp19ala And Dmrt1 During Gonadal Sex Differentiation And Sex Change In Orange-Spotted Grouper, Epinephelus Coioides, Chia-Yung Chen, Ya-Ju Tsai, Ching-Fong Chang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Sex steroids play a crucial role in gonadal sex differentiation in many nonmammalian vertebrates, including hermaphroditic teleosts. The current study investigates the mRNA expression levels of gonadal cyp19a1a, dmrt1, sf-1, dax-1 and 11β-hsd in the protogynous orange-spotted grouper, Epinephelus coioides, at certain stages during sex differentiation and sex change. Among the genes whose mRNA levels were determined through quantitative RT-PCR analysis, cyp19a1a was predominantly expressed in the ovary, and its expression was much lower in the testis. The level of cyp19a1a expressed at 150 dah was significantly high enough to trigger the pre-gyno female development of protogynous (subadult) orange-spotted grouper. …

Supervised Machine Learning Models For Fake News Detection, Andrea Lopez, Adelo Vieira, Zafar Ahsan, Farooq Sabib, Shirley Marinho

ICT

Fake news or the distribution of disinformation has become one of the most challenging issues in society. News and information are churned out across online websites and platforms in real-time, with little or no way for the viewing public to determine what is real or manufactured. But an awareness of what we are consuming online is becoming apparent and efforts are underway to explore how we separate fake content from genuine and truthful information. The most challenging part of fake news is determining how to spot it. In technology, there are ways to help us do this. Supervised machine learning …

Working Paper No. 20, Veblen And The Question Of Sexual Selection, Jenica M. Kramer

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to counter a hypothesis recently advanced by Jon D. Wisman; which states that Thorstein Veblen “missed” the opportunity to incorporate sexual selection into his evolutionary economics. To the contrary, I shall argue that Veblen’s vision is not at all lacking and that he intentionally failed to integrate into his evolutionary thinking the animal drive of sexual selection. First-off, I offer an account of Wisman’s thesis and this is followed by a refutation of his argument while making use of Veblen’s key concepts. Tracing the evolution of “conspicuous consumption” to its social inception, I endeavor to reveal the …

Stratigraphic And Environmental Control On Marine Benthic Community Change Through The Early Toarcian Extinction Event (Iberian Range, Spain), Silvia Danise, Marie Emilie Clémence, Gregory D. Price, Daniel P. Murphy, Juan J. Gómez, Richard J. Twitchett

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

An Ultra-Sensitive Aptasensor On Optical Fibre For The Direct Detection Of Bisphenol A, Tdp Allsop, R Neal, C Wang, Da Nagel, Et Al

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

We present a plasmonic biosensor capable of detecting the presence of bisphenol A in ultra-low concentrations, yielding a wavelength shift of 0.15 ± 0.01 nm in response to a solution of 1 fM concentration with limit of detection of 330 ± 70 aM The biosensing device consists of an array of gold nano-antennae with a total length of 2.3 cm that generate coupled localised surface plasmons (cLSPs) and is covalently modified with an aptamer specific for bisphenol A recognition. The array of nano-antennae is fabricated on a lapped section of standard telecommunication optical fibre, allowing for potential multiplexing and its …

Body Forms In Sharks (Chondrichthyes: Elasmobranchii), And Their Functional, Ecological, And Evolutionary Implications, Phillip C. Sternes

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Sharks are among the oldest vertebrate lineages in which their success has been attributed to their diversity in body shape and locomotor design. In this study, I investigated the diversity of body forms in extant sharks using landmark-based geometric morphometric analyses on lateral view illustrations of nearly all the known (ca. 470) extant sharks in a published guidebook. I ran three different analyses: the ‘full body,' ‘precaudal body,’ and ‘caudal fin' analyses. My study suggests that there are two basic body forms in sharks. The two major body forms are characterized as a ‘shallow-bodied’ form (Group A) and ‘deep-bodied’ form …

Scale Optimization Of Milkguard Biosensor For Detecting E. Coli In Human Breast Milk, Jerard Roniel Del Rosario Madamba

Bioengineering Master's Theses

Milkguard is an alginate-based biosensor developed to detect E. coli in human breast milk via the metabolism of X-gal (5-Bromo-4-Chloro-3-Indolyl β-D-Galactopyranoside) by β-galactosidase. In order to deconvolute metabolic reproducibility from scaling laws, the commercial enzyme β-galactosidase was used to mimic the biological function of the bacterial lac operon. Downscaling was explored as an optimization of the biosensor design based on numerical solutions to Fickian-based diffusion models. The characterization of large capsules (d ≅ 3 mm) and atomized microcapsules (d ≅ 300 ± 60 μm) yielded size-specific Michaelis-Menten constants. Small capsules (K_m = 3.6 x 10^-4 M; Vmax ’’ …

Ocean Acidification Refugia In Variable Environments, Lydia Kapsenberg, Tyler Cyronak

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Climate change refugia in the terrestrial biosphere are areas where species are protected from global environmental change and arise from natural heterogeneity in landscapes and climate. Within the marine realm, ocean acidification, or the global decline in seawater pH, remains a pervasive threat to organisms and ecosystems. Natural variability in seawater carbon dioxide (CO₂) chemistry, however, presents an opportunity to identify ocean acidification refugia (OAR) for marine species. Here, we review the literature to examine the impacts of variable CO₂ chemistry on biological responses to ocean acidification and develop a framework of definitions and criteria that connects …

Small-World Network Analysis Of Cortical Connectivity In Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Using Eeg, Mark Alan Zinn

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The primary aim of this thesis was to explore the relationship between electroencephalography (qEEG) and brain system dysregulation in people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). EEG recordings were taken from an archival dataset of 30 subjects, 15 people with CFS and 15 healthy controls (HCs), evaluated during an eye-closed resting state condition. Exact low resolution electromagnetic tomography (eLORETA) was applied to the qEEG data to estimate cortical sources and perform functional connectivity analysis assessing the strength of time-varying signals between all pairwise cortical regions of interest. To obtain a comprehensive view of local and global processing, eLORETA lagged coherence was …

Wyoming Wildlife: A Natural History, Paul Johnsgard, Thomas D. Mangelsen

Zea E-Books Collection

This book surveys Wyoming’s mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian faunas. In addition to introducing the state’s geography, geology, climate, and major ecosystems, it provides 65 biological profiles of 72 mammal species, 195 profiles of 196 birds, 9 profiles of 12 reptiles, and 6 profiles of 9 amphibians. There are also species lists of Wyoming’s 117 mammals, 445 birds, 22 reptiles, and 12 amphibians. Also included are descriptions of nearly 50 national and state properties, including parks, forests, preserves, and other public-access natural areas in Wyoming. The book includes a text of more than 150,000 words, nearly 700 references, a glossary …

Xx Sex Chromosome Complement Promotes Atherosclerosis In Mice, Yasir Alsiraj, Xuqi Chen, Sean E. Thatcher, Ryan E. Temel, Lei Cai, Eric M. Blalock, Wendy Katz, Heba M. Ali, Michael C. Petriello, Pan Deng, Andrew J. Morris, Xuping Wang, Aldons J. Lusis, Arthur P. Arnold, Karen Reue, Katherine L. Thompson, Patrick Tso, Lisa A. Cassis

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Men and women differ in circulating lipids and coronary artery disease (CAD). While sex hormones such as estrogens decrease CAD risk, hormone replacement therapy increases risk. Biological sex is determined by sex hormones and chromosomes, but effects of sex chromosomes on circulating lipids and atherosclerosis are unknown. Here, we use mouse models to separate effects of sex chromosomes and hormones on atherosclerosis, circulating lipids and intestinal fat metabolism. We assess atherosclerosis in multiple models and experimental paradigms that distinguish effects of sex chromosomes, and male or female gonads. Pro-atherogenic lipids and atherosclerosis are greater in XX than XY mice, indicating …

A Global Plankton Diversity Monitoring Program, Sonia D. Batten, Rana Abu-Alhaija, Sanae Chiba, Martin Edwards, George Graham, R. Jyothibabu, John A. Kitchener, Philippe Koubbi, Abigail Mcquatters-Gollop, Erik Muxagata, Clare Ostle, Anthony J. Richardson, Karen V. Robinson, Kunio T. Takahashi, Hans M. Verheye, Willie Wilson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Impulsivity In Science: Students' Beliefs In Their Science Abilities With And Without Adhd Symptomology, Deza'rae M. Collins, Lisa Marriott

University Honors Theses

Impulsivity has been negatively associated with students’ beliefs in their abilities in science (e.g., science self-efficacy). Impulsivity and risk tasking are known to be characteristics of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but it is unknown whether science self-efficacy is altered in students exhibiting ADHD symptomology. STEM beliefs (i.e. science, technology, engineering, and math) were hypothesized to be more challenging for impulsive and risky students who exhibited symptoms of ADHD, since that the fields require the practice of repetitive tasks and coordinated attention to task performance. Impulsivity, ADHD symptomology, and risk taking behavior were assessed in a cross-sectional sample of 612 …

A Computational Cognitive Architecture For Exploring Team Mental Models, Neil Benoit Outland

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Team Mental Models (TMM) are one of the strongest predictors of team behavior and performance. TMM direct team behaviors through the series of tasks they perform over time. Research in the area, although crucial in demonstrating the effect of TMM, has been largely static, failing to articulate specifically how TMM emerge or function in teams over time. This dissertation develops a computational model to explicate the process of TMM emergence and demonstrate necessary factors. First, I explain the core concepts of TMM emergence, including team composition, dyadic interactions, and contextual variables. Second, I develop a process-oriented theory of TMM development …

Key Expressions Of Posttraumatic Distress In Cambodian Children: A Step Toward Culturally-Sensitive Trauma Assessment And Intervention, Caleb J. Figge

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

More than half of all children in Cambodia experience direct abuse and over 70% other traumatic events, which significantly increase risk for a range of physical and mental health problems. Additionally, Cambodian children face longstanding sociopolitical, intergenerational, and cultural factors that compound the impact of direct victimization. As a result, rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms among Cambodian youth are high. However, care providers often rely on Western-based nosology that does not account for culturally specific expressions of trauma. Lack of knowledge surrounding the expressions of distress that best represent the experience of traumatized Cambodian children hinders diagnostic accuracy and treatment …

Two Of A Kind: Are Norms Of Honor A Species Of Morality?, Toby Handfield, John Thrasher

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

Should the norms of honor cultures be classified as a variety of morality? In this paper, we address this question by considering various empirical bases on which norms can be taxonomically organised. This question is of interest both as an exercise in philosophy of social science, and for its potential implications in meta-ethical debates. Using recent data from anthropology and evolutionary game theory, we argue that the most productive classification emphasizes the strategic role that moral norms play in generating assurance and stabilizing cooperation. Because honor norms have a similar functional role, this account entails honor norms are indeed a …

Tropic Transfer And Bioaccumulation Of Lead Along Soil-Plant-Aphid-Ladybird Food Chain, Mohod Irfan Naikoo, Mudasir Ifran Dar, Fareed Ahmad Khan, Fariha Raghib, N. Rajakaruna

Biological Sciences

Lead (Pb) contamination of agroecosystems is a serious issue as Pb is a persistent pollutant that is retained in soil for long, causing toxicities to organisms. This study examines biotransfer of Pb from soils treated with different concentrations of Pb through a broad bean (Vicia faba L.)–aphid (Aphis fabae Scop.)–ladybird (Coccinella transversalis Fabricius) food chain and its consequent inference for natural biological control, the ladybird. The soil was amended with Pb at the rates of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg kg⁻¹(w/w). The amount of Pb in plant, aphid and ladybird increased in a dose-dependent manner …

Use Of Connectotyping On Task Fmri Data Reveals Dynamic Network Level Cross Talking During Task Performance, Valeria Vazquez-Trejo, Binyam Nardos Phd, Bradley Schlaggar Md, Phd, Damien Fair Pa-C, Phd, Oscar Miranda-Dominguez Phd

University Honors Theses

Task functional MRI (fMRI) has greatly impacted our understanding of brain functioning, enabling the identification of brain areas associated with particular tasks. Current methods of fMRI analysis only display regional differences in activation. We propose that there are also dynamic functional connectivity changes occurring between systems which support the performance of a task.

A recently developed method, termed connectotyping, is able to efficiently model functional brain connectivity and has the potential to track changes in brain dynamics in individuals. Our work aims to use connectotyping to reveal the progression of temporal brain connectivity patterns in task fMRI.

Twenty-four participants (12 …

Interventions In Type 1 Diabetes: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Examining Factors That Lead To Improved Glycemic Control, Christopher E. Larsen

University Honors Theses

Uncontrolled type 1 diabetes puts adolescents at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, neuropathy, reduced brain mass, and reduced life expectancy among other symptoms. Clinically, behavioral interventions are staged for patients with uncontrolled type 1 diabetes. Meta-analyses of these interventions have yielded non-significant differences in overall glycemic control, and have yet to identify any significant moderators of outcomes. The goal of this study was to update and improve upon past meta-analyses, and evaluate potential moderators. 28 RCTs of behavioral interventions in type 1 diabetes evaluating glycemic control were identified. Variables within interventions were collected and reviewed systematically, separating interventions …

Stratigraphic Evidence Of Cascadia Earthquake Induced Relative Sea Level Change At Netarts Bay, Oregon, Jazzy M. Graham-Davis

University Honors Theses

I present new dendrochronologic age constraints from a buried tree slab collected below the marsh surface at Netarts Bay, Oregon. A ghost forest is apparent at low tide on the central-eastern margin of Netarts Bay. 120 meters inland from the bay front, incision into marsh exposures reveal buried trees protruding 1.43 meters below the marsh surface and extending from the 4th layer of buried marsh soils overlain by tsunami sands. I interpret this stratigraphic sequence as evidence for tectonic subsidence and abrupt paleotsunami inundation. Prior research at the southern marsh at Netarts Bay has correlated Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) ruptures …

A Rapid Viability And Drug‑Susceptibility Assay Utilizing Mycobacteriophage As An Indicator Of Drug Susceptibilities Of Anti‑Tb Drugs Against Mycobacterium Smegmatis Mc2 155, Gillian Catherine Crowley, Jim O'Mahony, Aidan Coffey, Riona G. Sayers, Paul D. Cotter

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Background: A rapid in-house TM4 mycobacteriophage-based assay, to identify multidrug resistance against various anti-tuberculosis drugs, using the fast-growing Mycobacterium smegmatis mc² 155 in a microtiter plate format was evaluated, based on phage viability assays. Methods: A variety of parameters were optimized before the study including the minimum incubation time for the drugs, phage and M. smegmatis mc² 155 to be in contact. An increase in phage numbers over 2 h was indicative that M. smegmatis mc² 155 is resistant to the drugs under investigation, however when phage numbers remained static, M. smegmatis mc² 155 found to …

Modification Of Host Behavior And Transmission In The Acanthocephalan Acanthocephalus Dirus: Effects Of Development, Intraspecific Conflict, And Host Sex, Sara R. Teemer

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Parasites are organisms that live on or in another in order to survive. In some cases, parasites require more than one host to complete their life cycle and rely on a predation event for transmission to the next host. Inside the host, the parasite must access host resources to grow and develop from the non-infective to infective stages. At the infective stage, the parasite is able to survive within the definitive host. Development to this stage has been correlated with changes in antipredatory behaviors, body size and color, and reproduction of intermediate hosts in ways that may increase predation by …

Defining The American System, Andrea Bellovary

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

American systems are commonly discussed in system justification literature; however, little is known about what subsystems are important to Americans’ understanding of the overall American system and what impact status has on forming these perceptions. This study attempts to answer these questions by asking Americans about their perceptions of the overall American system and seven underlying subsystems (political, economic, employment, education, criminal justice, social services, and health care). Three hundred and forty three community members from the Chicagoland area and Mechanical Turk were recruited to participate in the survey. It was hypothesized that high-status participants would prioritize the subsystems that …

Wavelet Analysis Of Short Globular Homologous Proteins In Mesophile And Thermophile Prokaryotes, John B. Linehan

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This study looked to identify features related to thermal stability and function in the amino acid chains of short globular proteins from mesophile and thermophile species, within the constraint that the protein fold to perform a speci_c function. To do so 540 homologous pairs of proteins were studied. The amino acid chains were con-verted to hydrophobicity signals by assigning a hydropathy score to each residue in the polypeptide. The hydrophobicity signals were passed through a wavelet packet transform and the resulting spectra analyzed. Bootstrapping was used to gener-ate a control data set to determine if the true ordering of amino …

Chasing The White Whale: Capturing The Relation Between Parent Educational Involvement And Student Socioemotional Difficulties Over Time, Samantha Irene Reaves

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Early childhood socioemotional difficulties are of increasing concern due to their impact on later functioning, particularly in the academic environment. A large body of research highlights the relation between parent educational involvement and student academic success, such that more involvement is associated with better grades, retention, and graduation. It is praised as a protective factor for those students at risk for poor outcomes. An under-researched area of the parent educational involvement literature is the construct’s relation to student socioemotional functioning, which also affects success in the academic environment and predicts long term functioning. This study seeks to longitudinally investigate these …

Medication-Related Osteonecrosis Of The Jaws After Tooth Extraction In Senescent Female Mice Treated With Zoledronic Acid: Microtomographic, Histological And Immunohistochemical Characterization, Cláudia Cristina Biguetti, André Hergesel De Oliva, Kent Healy, Ramez Hassan Mahmoud, Isabela Do Carmo Custódio, Dulce Helena Constantino, Edilson Ervolino, Marco Antonio Hungaro Duarte, Walid D. Fakhouri, Mariza Akemi Matsumoto

School of Podiatric Medicine Publications

Treatment with cumulative dosages of zoledronic acid (ZA) in elderly patients is a risk factor for the development of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (MRONJ), mainly related to surgical triggers such as tooth extraction. However, animal models for the investigation and understanding of MRONJ pathophysiology in senescent and postmenopausal stages remains to be developed and characterized. The aim of this study was to analyze MRONJ development in senescent female mice treated with cumulative dosages of ZA. For this purpose, twenty 129/Sv female mice, 64 weeks old, were treated with 0.9% saline solution as control group (n = 10), and with …

Unravel The Cellular Biophysical Dynamics Of Spatial Constraint-Induced Membrane Blebbing And 3d Migration Using A Microfluidic Platform And Data-Driven Mathematical Modeling, Yu Huang

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Structural Racism And Severe Maternal Morbidity In New York State, Sze Yan Liu, Christina Fiorentini, Zinzi Bailey, Mary Huynh, Katherine Mcveigh, Deborah Kaplan

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

ABSTRACT

Objective: We examined the association between county-level structural racism indicators and the odds of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) in New York State.

Design: We merged individual-level hospitalization data from the New York State Department of Health Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) with county-level data from the American Community Survey and the Vera Institute of Justice from 2011 to 2013 (n = 244 854). Structural racism in each county included in our sample was constructed as the racial inequity (ratio of black to white population) in female educational attainment, female employment, and incarceration.ReSulT S: Multilevel logistic regression analysis …

Breaking The Stigma: Major Depressive Disorder, Joanna Cox

Theses

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a mood and mental disorder affecting the brain; it is caused by the reduction of three monoamine neurotransmitters: serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine (Rot, M. A., Mathew, S. J., & Charney, D. S. 2009). MDD is one of the world’s most common mental disorders, affecting a predicted 4% of the world’s population and roughly 16.1 million adults in United States alone (Major Depression. 2019; Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. 2018). The concentrations of these neurotransmitters are reduced in the brains of people with MDD due to their increased reabsorption from synapses in the brain back into …

Politics In The San Clemente Dam Removal, Aylan Matthew Lee

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the role of politics in the removal of the 106-foot tall San Clemente Dam. The removal project and negotiations provide a case study of the contemporary phenomenon of dam removal. My analysis joins a growing body of social science literature on the social, political, and human dimensions of removal. The San Clemente Dam, which impounded the Carmel River near Monterey, California, was removed in 2015, the largest such project completed in California. Drawing on political ecology and science and technology studies, and using a mixed qualitative approach, I assess both the role of politics in shaping the …